Electric Dreams
by Red Witch
Summary: The X-Men face their greatest challenge! Arcade! R&R all the madness in this completed fic! Prepare for life changing shocks and surprises to welcome in the New Year!
1. Longing

****

I don't own any X-Men Evolution characters! So there! This fic takes place in my Ronin Toad/Parallel Lives/Misfit Chronicles universe. The events take place about three or four months after those events. This is a very strange romance/adventure fic that came into my head. It concerns a very unusual couple never before conceived. Of course this is me here so be prepared for a shock. Or two or three. Don't say I didn't warn you. 

**Electric Dreams**

**Chapter One: Longing**

Arcade tossed and turned in his bed, unable to sleep. Even though his body was exhausted his mind felt like it was still wide-awake. He couldn't stop thinking about her. 

It had been simple enough to send messages to her secretly though e-mail. This online romance had been taking place for over a month now, ever since he found out a way to connect to the Institute's computer without being detected. He hated not being able to see her openly, but it was the only way. 

Ever since he met her, Arcade had been drawn to her beauty, her intelligence, and her power. And he felt connected to her. He knew what it was like to be alone. To be taken for granted. 

Fury raged inside his heart. To them she was nothing more than a tool. A weapon to be used for their convenience. Those damn X-Men didn't appreciate her. How could they? They only saw the outside. That façade that they believed was the real her. Mindless fools. 

But he loved her. He loved her enough to plan the ultimate way they could be together forever. It had taken him months but now he had finally found a way. She would finally be touched and loved. No longer alone. He would see that she would never be alone again. 

Arcade closed his eyes and whispered to his love, even though he knew she was not there. But he had to say it. He had to proclaim his love even if there was no one there to hear him. Just by saying it, it would make their union an inevitability. 

"I love you Cerebro…" 


	2. Love is Love No Matter How Strange

**Love is Love (No Matter How Strange) **

_"I SWEAR THAT LIZARD IS GOING TO DIE!!!!" _

Rogue idly looked up from the couch in the common room. She raised an eyebrow at Bobby. "Let me guess, Kitty's little pet chewed up your socks again?"

"Worse he barbecued them!" Bobby held up a charred pair of what used to be socks. "When I get my hands on that prehistoric iguana…"

"You know it's your own fault," Rogue said. "First you don't keep your door closed and second you shouldn't be teasing the poor thing in the first place!"

"Poor thing?" Bobby snapped. "Poor thing? That poor thing is a menace!"

"Save your breath Ice Boy," Ray sighed as he walked in. "You should know by now that every girl here is in love with the thing!" 

"I am not!" Rogue said hotly. "And Lockheed is not a thing. It's just a harmless little baby dragon that happens to be a lot smarter than half the boys in this place anyway!" 

"Harmless?" Ray asked. "That little baby as you called it has nearly fried half the people in this mansion!"

"The male half," Remy grumbled as he walked in. "For some reason Lockheed only likes the girls. Although Gambit must admit he can see its point." 

"Except for Wolverine," Bobby said. "For some strange reason Lockheed likes him."

"Only because it annoys him," Ray remarked. "Speak of the little scaly devil…"

Lockheed was flapping in carrying something in its jaws. It landed by Rogue and placed it at her feet. "What have you got there?" Rogue picked it up. "Hey these are…"

"WHERE IS HE?" Scott shouted. "WHERE IS THE ROTTEN LITTLE PURPLE THIEF?" 

They went into the hallway and found Scott fumbling around the halls covering his eyes. "GIVE ME BACK MY SHADES YOU MEDIVAL BARNEY RIP-OFF! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU…" 

"Scott calm down before you blow the mansion up," Rogue put his shades back on. "Here you go…" 

"Ugh…dragon drool," Scott muttered. He glared at Lockheed. "Come here you little…" He moved towards it menacingly.

"Hold it right there!" Rogue stopped him. "I'm sure Lockheed didn't mean anything by it! He probably was just playing, that's all."

"Playing huh?" Scott said sarcastically. "It wants to play a game? I got a game for it to play…Dragon Basketball! I'm gonna slam dunk that stupid little lizard into next week!"

"Take a number!" Bobby said. 

"Hold it right there!" Rogue picked up Lockheed. "Any one of you lays a finger on Lockheed I'm gonna lay an ungloved hand on you! Got it? Oh look, now look what you've done!" She held Lockheed closer to her shoulder as it whimpered. "You've scared the little guy! You should be ashamed of yourselves! Bunch of bullies!"

"US?" Remy said incredulously. "Chere that lizard has got you blindsided! You ain't fallin' for that little act it's pullin' ain't you?" 

"The only act that is gonna happen is a disappearing one if you all don't stop teasing that poor thing!" Rogue snapped. "Come on Lockheed, let's get you back to Kitty. She's probably worried sick about you." She carried Lockheed away in a huff, not noticing that the dragon gave the boys a flick of its tongue and made a sound at them. 

"That thing just stuck its tongue out at us!" Bobby snapped. "I swear that thing just gave us a raspberry!" 

"Remind me to kill Lance for giving Kitty that stupid winged iguana," Remy growled.

"I don't care what anybody says he must have planned it," Scott snapped. "Somehow he must have known that that dragon would drive us crazy! I know it!" 

"You know Scott, normally when you go into one of your 'Avalanche is Evil' speeches you kinda go a bit out there," Ray said. "But this time I think you may be on to something!" 

************************************************************************

"You wouldn't think that such a little dragon would not make such a big mess," Hank sighed as he continued to clean up his lab.

"Well at least Kitty's finally got the little runt housebroken," Logan grumbled. "Although I have a sneaking suspicion those 'accidents' weren't really accidents if you know what I mean!" 

"Yes Lockheed does seem to possess an uncanny amount of intelligence for a reptile doesn't he?" Hank sighed. "He may even be more sentient than we think. Possibly on the same level as humans."

"Some humans anyway," Logan growled. "I can't believe the school board banned the kids from going back to school! Even though Chuck paid for more than half of the schools' reconstruction and had the X-Men help build it! It would still be a pile of rubble if it wasn't for us!" 

"It's only a temporary ban," Hank told him. "Until the lawsuit is settled. However since the army has assisted us with testimony and evidence that the incident at the school dance wasn't really our fault, I'm sure we will be vindicated."

"Doesn't matter," Logan grunted. "Cobra makes the mess and mutants get the blame anyway!" 

"Well technically Avalanche made the mess," Hank told him. "But since he was using his powers in self defense at the time I suppose we can assign Cobra more than it's fair share of the blame." 

"Well at least Chuck got the Institute certified so at least the kids can get a high school diploma here if the worst happens," Logan said. 

"Yes," Hank sighed. "I fear it may be too soon for complete mutant integration in society. These are troubling times. If anything the incident with Cobra and GI Joe has taught us that there will always be groups who will be hunting mutants for their own means. We must be more vigilant than ever." 

"I fear you are right Hank," Xavier wheeled in. "And we may have a new problem to contend with. I've been running a diagnostic on Cerebro and I have discovered something very disturbing."

"What? Lockheed chewed on the wires or something?" Logan grinned.

"I'm afraid this goes beyond some harmless actions of Kitty's pet," Xavier told him. "I have just discovered that there have been several successful attempts to infiltrate Cerebro's programming. However no data has been stolen or tampered with. It appears that someone has figured out a way to access Cerebro's programming without detection." 

****

"You mean somebody has been secretly communicating with Cerebro?" Hank asked. 

"More like hacking," Logan growled. "Any idea who did it?"

"I'm afraid not," Xavier shook his head. "Whoever has done it is very good. Very good. It could be anyone or anything. It may be Magneto or Mystique…"

"Or it could be Trask," Logan growled. "Or Cobra." 

"Could GI Joe or the government be involved?" Hank asked. "That's a possibility. Although I am loathe to believe that the Joes themselves would do such a thing."

"I gotta agree with you there," Logan said. "No way the Joes would do something like this to us. But the government…I dunno. There's always SHIELD or some other agency…" 

"Or it could be a new threat," Xavier said. "Someone we don't know. That is a very real possibility. And we won't know until he or she tries again." 

"You got something in mind Chuck?" Logan asked. 

"Yes but I am going to need your assistance Hank," Xavier said. "As well as the assistance of a few of the students…" 

************************************************************************

"Okay! Let 'er rip!" Forge called out to Jamie. They were in the garage where Forge had made a makeshift lab. Kurt was with them. 

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Jamie asked as he looked at the strange machine. 

"Trust us," Kurt told him. "This time it will work!" 

"That's what you said the last twelve times," Jamie told him. 

"Hey thirteen's a lucky number!" Forge told him.

"No it isn't," Jamie told him.

"Well it is if you were born on the thirteenth," Forge shrugged. "Do it!"

"Okay," Jamie sighed as he pulled the lever. "Here goes nothing…" Instantly the machine sputtered and coughed. Then it started to rumble.

"It's gonna blow!" Forge shouted. Suddenly spews of yellow, orange and green liquid splattered all over them and the garage. Then some strange multi-colored gunk oozed out of a funnel into a basement. Kurt looked at it and pulled off a piece of it and chewed on it. 

"Success!" Kurt beamed. "The perfect orange-banana-kiwi flavored chewing gum!" 

"Yeah and you only had to wreck the garage to do it," Jamie grumbled. 

"Hey at least we got the formula right this time!" Forge said. "Now all we have to do is figure out how to make the machine from not spitting up juice when it makes it and our science project is ready for grading!"

"Forget the grade," Kurt rubbed his hands together. "I smell marketing potential for this stuff."

"That's not all I smell," Amara poked her head in. "Don't tell me another science project blew up on you?" 

"Not exactly," Forge told her. "But we did pull it off this time! Wanna try our gum?"

"Ew…no thank you," Amara held up her hands at the sight of the sticky substance. 

"Amara have you found the boys?" Ororo walked in and saw the mess. "Never mind…" 

"We did it Storm!" Forge said cheerfully. "Wanna taste our newest gum flavor?" 

"Ah…maybe some other time," Ororo declined. 

"You guys are so weird," Amara told them. 

"I must admit, the mansion certainly has had some interesting changes since you've arrived Forge," Ororo shook her head. "Not to mention several new repairs."

"Hey you know what they say," Forge shrugged as he toweled his face off. "You can't make a world class omelet without breaking a few hundred eggs. Or something like that." 

"Amara's right, you guys are weird," Jamie grumbled as they went into the kitchen. 

Tabitha was in there drinking a soda. She raised an eyebrow as they walked in. "Let me guess, another day of playing 'Mad Scientist'?" 

"Very funny," Kurt said dryly as he started to towel himself off. "I hate cleaning things out of my fur!" 

"Bet Amanda would love to do it for you," Tabitha grinned. 

"That's enough Tabitha," Ororo said. "I think I'd better go talk to Charles about the grocery list. We're running low on cleaning supplies as well as aspirin." She left the room.

"It stinks you and Amanda have to sneak around behind her parents' backs," Amara said to Kurt. 

"At least you and Bobby don't have to sneak around," Tabitha pointed out.

"We don't really need to," Amara told her. "We kinda broke up." This stunned the table.

"So you two aren't an item anymore?" Tabitha asked. "Shame. You two looked cute together." 

"Yeah well," Amara sighed. "Fire and ice don't exactly mix. Besides, I think he still misses Jubilee. It wasn't really anything serious anyway. We decided to remain friends but that's it." 

"So are you looking to date anyone else?" Jamie asked.

"Don't even think about it Jamie," Amara said. 

"Ignore him Amara," Forge told her. "I don't have anyone either but I'm not in any hurry to date anyone!" 

"But you do have a girlfriend, well sort of," Tabitha said.

"What?" Forge yelped. "No I don't!" 

"He does?" Kurt gasped. "Who is it?"

"Nobody!" Forge snapped. "I don't like anybody!" 

"It's so obvious," Tabitha rolled her eyes. "Am I the only one who notices that whenever Storm walks into a room Forge gets this puppy dog happy look on his face?" 

"You have a crush on Storm?" Kurt choked. "No way!" 

"I do not!" Forge snapped. 

"Do so! You know that look Lance gets whenever he sees Kitty?" Tabitha asked.

"Oh my god you're right!" Amara gasped. "I can't believe I never noticed that before!" 

"Gross!" Jamie made a face.

"But she's an adult and you're…" Kurt started to say.

"Well technically I am over thirty," Forge pointed out. "Even though my body really hasn't caught up." 

"So what's the problem?" Tabitha asked. "Why don't you ask her out?" 

"I can't do that!" Forge snapped. "She's still my teacher!"

"Then you admit it!" Tabitha crowed. "Forge loves Storm! Forge loves Storm!" 

"I DO NOT!" Forge shouted. 

"Do too!" Tabitha chanted. "Forge has a girlfriend! Forge has a girlfriend!" 

"Take that back!" Forge grabbed the first thing closest to him and threw it at Tabitha, which was an apple. She started throwing food at him which landed on Kurt, Amara and Jamie. Soon they were all in a food fight.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" Storm walked in and looked at the mess. 

"Oh look it's your girlfriend Forge," Tabitha snickered.

"Shut up!" Forge squirted her with some ketchup. Soon the food fight resumed.

"Definitely need to triple the order of aspirin around here," Ororo groaned as the fight continued.

************************************************************************

Arcade sat alone in his room studying the monitor on his computer. "Well it was only a matter of time before the X-Men figured out someone was communicating with Cerebro," He said to himself. "Funny, I would have thought they'd have figured it out long before this. Oh well…" 

He grinned and punched in a code then pushed the send button. "Phase one complete," Arcade smiled. "Now it's time to move on to phase two. Soon Cerebro, we'll be together. I promise." 


	3. Family Affairs

**Family Affairs**

In the Torque home a regal woman with blond hair finished putting herself together for the evening. "I hope for once VanDymes' party won't be such a bore," She muttered.

A middle-aged man with reddish hair and a sturdy athletic body finished straightening his tie. "You know how necessary they are for my business."

"Not to mention my circle of friends," She sniffed. "Well we'd better get it over with. I just…" She looked out of the corner of her eye. "What are you doing here?" She said sharply.

"Hello Mother, Father," Arcade said softly. 

"Were you spying on us again?" Mrs. Torque snapped.

"N-no I just wanted to see you," Arcade said. 

"What for?" Mrs. Torque asked. "What could a child like you possibly want? Spit it out boy!"

"I…I…" Arcade felt his throat go dry. "Tomorrow's my birthday."

"So it is," Mr. Torque nodded. "Sixteen is it?" 

"Yes sir," Arcade responded. 

"Well if it's money you want go buy yourself something with your credit card," Mrs. Torque said. "That's what it's for."

"It's not that," Arcade said. "I was wondering if we could do something tomorrow night. If not I could go see some friends."

"You'd better do that," Mrs. Torque went back to her mirror. "We have an engagement tomorrow night as well. That ghastly auction for …what charity was it again?"

"Does it really matter?" Mr. Torque asked. "Yes why don't you go have some fun with friends your own age. You really don't want to hang around with us now do you?"

_No I don't, _Arcade thought to himself. Instead he replied. "All right. Good night Father, Mother. Have a good night." 

He barely left the room when he heard his mother say to his father. "Friends? Since when does he have any friends?"

"Maybe he's finally making something of himself," Mr. Torque said. "Even he can't stay locked up in his room forever."

"I just hope that whoever they are they are at least not some kind of hooligans," Mrs. Torque sniffed. 

Arcade didn't stay to hear the rest. His parents had him late in life. They had never wanted children in the first place since they both had one from previous marriages. Yes they were living with their other parents and stepparents. They were now successful in life. One was an attorney and the other was a shrewd businesswoman. They were the 'golden' children. Perfect in every way. Unlike him, a gangly red haired geek. 

Yes he was an accident as his mother often reminded him. Still as long as he left them alone and didn't embarrass them he was free to do as he pleased. "Yes Mother I think I will get myself something," He said softly as he locked the door into his room. "But I won't need my credit card."

He went to his computer. "Now let's see what Cerebro has found for me today?" He scanned the files. "Interesting. Now cross reference the sightings to known associates of the X-Men…Bingo!" 

His eyes gleamed as he saw the information on the screen. "Perfect," Arcade nodded. "Not one but two mutant sightings. That's just what I've been waiting for! Now to send a little message of my own…" 

************************************************************************

"I can't believe what a mess this is!" Hank sighed. "Are you sure that you can't fix Cerebro any faster Forge?" Several X-Men were in Cerebro trying to fix the machine. 

"Look I'm more a hands on inventor," Forge told him. "Programming isn't exactly my thing. I mean I'm good at it but you really need an expert here. Somehow Cerebro's files got corrupted and I can't even begin to find the source." 

Xavier sighed as he looked over the files. "I'm afraid you're right. I designed this system and even I'm having trouble with it." 

"Look I know somebody who could help us," Kitty said. "You guys remember Arcade right?"

"How could we forget?" Kurt moaned. "He nearly barbecued us!" 

"Yeah but he's like a genius when it comes to computers," Kitty pointed out. "Maybe he could help us?" 

"That's not a bad idea," Xavier sighed. "I'm afraid we need all the help we can get with Cerebro. When I return from West Virginia I think I'll call the boy myself." 

"West Virginia?" Kurt asked. 

"It seems that another member of Cannonball's family has developed a mutation of her own," Hank told them.

"Yeah my folks got real upset," Sam told them. "We're gonna go down there and help my baby sister out." 

"You mean your sister's…" Forge began.

"A mutant like me yeah," Sam nodded. "Mom just called a few hours ago."

"So what's her power?" Kitty asked.

"According to what I could get from Cerebro her powers involve some kind of manipulation of her epidermis on a molecular level," Hank said.

"In English?" Logan asked as he walked in. 

"Her powers have something to do with her skin," Hank said. 

"I need the Blackbird prepped in…" There was a buzzing sound from Cerebro. 

"What's that?" Kitty asked.

"It's some kind of message via e-mail," Forge put it on the screen. "Hey it's from Angel!" 

"Wonderful," Logan growled. "Now Fly-boy needs our help!"

"It appears that Warren is requesting our help with a mutant he's found," Xavier looked. "It doesn't go into detail what his powers are but it seems quite urgent."

"So what do we do?" Hank asked. 

"Hank you and I will go to Vermont," Xavier said. "Logan you take Ororo and go with Sam to help his sister. Jean I want you to go with them as well." 

"Right Professor," Jean nodded. 

"Scott you and Rogue are in charge," Xavier said. "We'll be back as soon as possible. Oh and do me a favor this time, no parties please?"

"Don't worry Professor," Rogue nodded. "We'll keep a lid on things."

"Yeah everything will run as smooth as silk when you get back," Forge nodded.

************************************************************************

"I'm telling ya 'Ro, that boy's got it bad for you," Logan said. He was piloting the Velocity an hour later. 

"Please Logan," Ororo rolled her eyes. "Forge is only a boy."

"That 'boy' is technically an adult," Logan said. "And even if he wasn't I know hormones when I smell 'em. I'm just saying to be careful will ya?" 

"You needn't worry," Ororo smiled. "I believe I can control myself."

"It's not your control I'm worried about," Logan remarked.

"I think we're coming up to Cannonball's farm," Jean cut in. 

"Thank goodness we're out in the sticks where not too many people will know about it," Logan nodded.

"The sticks' as you refer to it happens to be my home," Sam told him defensively. 

"I'm sure Wolverine didn't mean it like that," Jean said. "He's probably referring to the fact that not many people will be around to see us land."

"Wanna bet?" Logan pointed. "Looks like there's an army out there!"

"That army is my family," Sam grinned as he saw a crowd of people outside the farm. "My cousins must have come over too."

"How many cousins do you have?" Jean asked wide-eyed.

"Well my dad has six brothers and sisters and my mom has nine brothers and sisters," Sam said. "And nearly all of them are married and have kids. And those are just my first cousins. My second and third cousins have a lot more. Looks like only half of them are there." 

"Six and nine?" Logan asked.

"Only **_half_**?" Jean's jaw dropped. 

"Yeah well let's just say that having a lot of kids runs in the family," Sam ran his hand through his hair. 

"Does Tabitha know about this?" Jean asked.

"If not she will soon enough," Logan shook his head as he landed the chopper. Already several children and teenagers were crowding around the jet. "Oh great! They're gonna get fingerprints all over it and I just had it waxed!"

"Calm down Mr. Logan they're just curious that's all," Sam said. He opened the door.

"Sammy!" A seven-year-old blonde girl in pigtails and a red dress ran up to him.

"Well hey there Sarah!" Sam hopped down and lifted her up in a big hug. "Man you're getting big!"

"Hey little Bro!" Another tall strapping boy clapped him on the shoulder. "Looks like all that big city living's doing you some good!"

"George you old rascal you! How are ya!" Sam laughed.

"I hate to break up the family reunion," Logan growled. "But we're here on a mission, remember? Hey! You kids don't climb on there! Is that jelly? You'll ruin the paint job!"

"Logan!" Ororo snapped.

"Don't mind Mr. Logan," Sam told them. "He's always like that. Don't mean nothing."

"Sounds like Cousin Irving to me," Another Guthrie chuckled. 

"Hi there," Sarah looked at Jean. "Are you Sam's girlfriend?"

"No silly that's Jean," Sam shook his head. "I told you about her. Remember?"

"Oh," Sarah nodded. "She don't look stuck up."

"WHAT?" Jean glared at Sam.

"Uh maybe we oughta go see my sister now," Sam gulped. 

"Samuel! Thank goodness you're here!" Mr. Guthrie ran up. 

"Pa what happened?" Sam asked. 

"Well we were all having a quiet family dinner when all of the sudden Paige starts screaming," He told him. "You see she was fighting with Henry again and you know how they get to tussling. Well all of the sudden…it happened. He grabbed her arm like this and went to yank on it and then…well."

"Well what?" Sam asked. "What happened?"

"This," The boy named Henry pulled something out. "Her skin came off her arm and underneath was something shiny." It was in the shape of a hand and arm. 

"Henry James Guthrie you put that away!" Mr. Guthrie snapped.

"That's disgusting!" Another girl shouted as Sarah started to cry. 

"I think it's pretty cool," Henry looked at it. "Like some kind of insect husk. Besides there's more of it all over the house." 

"I think we'd better see for ourselves," Ororo took charge. "Sam, Jean come with me. Logan why don't you entertain the children?"

"What?" Logan sputtered as Sam handed him Sarah. "But I…But I…"

"Hi Mister," Sarah stopped crying and looked at him. "Boy you have funny hair."

"What does this do?" Henry went inside the Velocity.

"Oh no you don't!" Logan snapped. "Thanks a lot Ororo!"

They went inside the farmhouse. "Where is she?" Sam asked a young woman.

"In her room with your mother," She said holding something golden. "She's shedding it all over the house!" 

"Come on," Sam lead them upstairs to a door. "Paige! It's me! Sam!" Sam called out. "Open up!" 

"Sammy?" A middle aged blonde woman opened the door. She hugged him. "Oh Sammy I'm so glad you're here!"

"Mamma?" A small voice cried out in the dark.

"Paige?" Sam looked past his mother's shoulder. Something in human form was behind her. "PAIGE!"

Ororo and Jean went into the room. The girl seemed to be covered completely in a brown rocky crust. What little she wore was torn and shredded. "Help me Sam," Paige whimpered. "I can't stop it."

"It's all right Paige don't fret now," Sam knelt by her side. "I'm here."

"Paige? My name's Jean and this is Storm," Jean knelt next to her. "Are you in pain."

"N…No," She sniffed. "Not really. But I can't stop it." 

"First she was gold," Mrs. Guthrie indicated the discarded skin all around on the floor. "Then silver. Then this black plastic like stuff and now she's a rock! What does it all mean?" 

"Your daughter's mutation has to do with her skin," Ororo looked around. "I think it means that she can change her outer layer of skin to several different substances at will." 

"But why did this have to happen to me?" Paige gulped, still crying. "Why can't I have a cool power like Sam's?"

"No one knows exactly why it is a mutant gets the powers they have," Jean said gently. "When I first got my powers I hated them too. But now I can control them. Let me help you." Jean put her hands on Paige's head. "Now calm down and concentrate. Just think about your skin the way it was before the change." 

"I…I'll try," Paige gulped. She took several breaths. Then she started pulling at her face with her hands. The rocky exterior crumbled to reveal a pretty girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. 

"That's it Paige," Jean said gently. "Take control." She then noticed that Paige was barely wearing anything at all. "Uh Sam…could we have some privacy please?"

"Uh sure," Sam gulped as he left the room. Ororo went with him as Jean and Mrs. Guthrie tended to Paige. 

Sam's father was waiting downstairs. "How is she?"

"Jean's calming her down," Sam told him. "She should be back to normal."

"Yeah but for how long?" George asked. "I mean how does this happen? I thought Sam was the only mutant in the family?" 

"Well it is always a possibility that siblings would inherit the X-Gene," Ororo said. 

"Yeah and with all of us I guess the odds are pretty good," Another of Sam's brothers nodded. 

"You're not gonna send her away too are ya?" One of Sam's relatives asked Mr. Guthrie.

"What choice do I have?" Mr. Guthrie asked. "I don't know how to help her and she can't stay here! You know how some folks in this county feel about mutants! They went nuts when Sam became one! You think it'd be any better for Paige? I don't want her to go but if that's what's best for her…"

"Don't worry Pa," Sam said. "I'll take good care of her. I promise. She won't be alone. It ain't like this hasn't happened before." 

"Well at least this time we know what's going on," Mr. Guthrie sighed. "Can you help her like you helped Sam?"

"We will do our best," Ororo said. "The Institute will be the safest place for her. I guarantee it." 


	4. Just Helping Out a Friend

****

Okay as far as Warren's age is concerned I'm just taking an educated guess based on the episodes. It's close enough anyway. 

Just Helping Out a Friend

Meanwhile the Blackbird had landed on the outskirts of a small clearing near a cabin. "You think we should have brought some of the other students?" Hank asked.

"I think we should see Mr. Worthington alone first," Xavier said. "Maybe he wants to discuss again the possibility of him teaching at the Institute?" 

"I know we're short handed but the guy's not that much older than Jean or Scott," Hank frowned. "How old is he anyway?" 

"Twenty three," Xavier nodded. "Still I think he could be a good addition to the team. But let's see if that's what he wants to talk about." 

"Hank, Xavier," Warren greeted them at the door. "I'm glad you showed up." 

"It's good to see you Warren," Hank smiled. 

"It's good to see you too," Warren nodded. 

"Have you considered our offer to teach at the Institute?" Xavier asked.

"Is that why you're here?" Warren asked.

"What do you mean?" Hank blinked. "You called us."

"No I didn't," Warren said. "But I was going to anyway. There's someone I want you to meet. Come in." 

They went into the cabin. "Jesse," Warren called out. "There are some friends of mine I want you to meet." 

Inside was a tall, lanky African American boy about sixteen years old. He had short dreadlocks and was wearing jeans and a baggy sweater. "Jesse these are the people I was telling you about," Warren told him. "Charles, Hank, this is Jesse Aaronson."

Jesse looked very nervous, especially when he saw Hank. "Hello. Hey, you're blue…and furry."

"Observant isn't he?" Hank quipped.

"Sorry," Jesse nervously apologized. "I didn't mean…"

"It's all right," Hank waved. "I realize that my appearance is distressing at times. Believe me, I've given myself a fright now and then."

"It's just that…" Jesse looked around. "This is all so new and weird to me. I mean first a guy with wings and now a blue furry guy…Then again I'm a freak too so I guess it doesn't much matter."

"We mutants are not freaks Jesse," Xavier said kindly. "Just people with different abilities. Different gifts."

"Yeah well tell that to the people at my foster home," Jesse grumbled. "Or that crazy doctor that tried to turn me into his personal guinea pig." He shivered at an unknown memory. 

That was when the television set turned itself on as well as the lights starting to go on and off several times. "What in the world?" Hank looked around. Then the television exploded again. 

"Aw man I did it again!" Jesse groaned. "Sorry about that, but when I get nervous or something machines go haywire!" A light bulb in a nearby lamp seemed to over charge before it exploded. "Not to mention any light bulbs." 

"Disruption of electric and mechanical devices," Hank raised an eyebrow. "That is an interesting mutation." 

"It's all right Jesse," Xavier said calmly. "There's no need to be afraid of us. You're among friends here." 

"Look I know what you all are thinking," Jesse said defensively. "But I ain't no scaredy cat! It's just the past two weeks have been the weirdest in my life! I mean it would freak anyone out!" 

Another light bulb exploded. "Jesse maybe you should calm down a little before we end up completely in the dark," Warren smirked.

"Sorry, I don't mean to do it…" Jesse put his hand to his head. 

"It's all right Jesse," Xavier said. "It's perfectly understandable."

"We know exactly how you feel," Hank said. "When I grew fur and claws I trashed a school room. And that was less than a year ago. Believe me if anyone understands how one's powers can get out of control…"

"Wait a minute, you weren't always furry?" Jesse looked at him. "And you're an adult? I thought stuff like that happened in your teens or something?"

"Usually that's the case," Xavier told him. "But sometimes advanced mutations do happen in adults. It's rare but it happens. But we'd like to find out more about you if you don't mind?" 

"Well…"Jesse sat down. "I'm an orphan. My folks died when I was five. I have a brother but I haven't seen him in a long time. We were split up when I was a kid. I lived in this group foster home. It wasn't so bad. Kinda strict and religious but we all cared about each other. Kind of like a family. Or it was until…" 

Jesse took a deep breath. "For a while I was getting headaches. No one knew exactly what it was. Then a couple of weeks ago I was having a real bad day. I flunked a test at school, got detention for being late to class. Then I got into an argument with my best friend and roommate. Well my ex-best friend and roommate. It was stupid. It was over whose stuff was on who's side of the room when all of the sudden I blew my stack. The next thing I knew the stereo explodes. My foster dad ran in and saw the light bulb explode. At first we all thought there was some kind of electrical short in the room. But then I went into the kitchen to cool down, but I was still kind of jumpy. Somebody was popping popcorn in the microwave and left the kitchen for a second so I was the only one in there. Well you can guess what happened next. Suddenly everyone in the whole house is looking at me like I grew another eye or something. I tried to deny it wasn't my fault, but then the TV exploded when I walked in front of it and…that's when I knew. Unfortunately so did everyone in the house."

"I take it that your foster parents did not approve," Hank said. 

"Not even an hour after that happened I was told to pack my things," Jesse said bitterly. "That I was unsafe to be around the other kids. These were people I grew up with and all of the sudden they turned into perfect strangers! I couldn't believe it! Even my best friends turned their backs on me." 

"It's not an uncommon reaction I'm afraid," Xavier sighed. 

"The next thing I knew is that I was shipped out to this hospital," Jesse sighed. "Man I wasn't there for even an hour when I realized that that place was whack! That means crazy."

"I know," Xavier smiled. "I've been around teenagers for quite a while." 

"Well this doctor acted like I was some kind of new toy or something," Jesse said nervously. "Running all these weird tests on me. Convinced my foster parents that he could cure me or something but curing me was the last thing on his mind. Well after three days I couldn't take any more so I just checked out. I mean I ran and I never looked back. I've been trying to lay low or something but everywhere I go my powers just keep acting up and everybody freaks out when they see me. It's really getting on my nerves! Then I ran into Angel Man here and wow…it's just all too much ya know?" 

"I found him when I was flying around in New York," Warren explained. "He caused quite a commotion. Fortunately I was able to get him away before any angry mobs could find him."

"Yeah when I saw this dude with wings I thought I was tripping…I mean going nuts," Jesse said. "But he was the real deal and I figured what the heck did I have to lose so I went with him."

"I brought him here to my family ski lodge because it was isolated," Warren explained. "I thought he'd be safer here." 

"Yeah not to mention fewer things for me to blow up," Jesse sighed. 

"How did you know where to find us?" Angel asked. 

"You left a message on our computer," Hank told him. "Remember?"

"No I didn't," Angel looked at him. "You guys called me."

"We assuredly did not," Hank said. "Most peculiar." 

"But if you didn't call us," Xavier frowned. "Who did?" 

************************************************************************

"Come on Scott you promised!" Kitty pulled on his arm.

"How did I let you two talk me into this?" Scott groaned as they walked in the mall.

"Hey it's not like you don't need new shoes either," Rogue told him. "Hey look over there." 

Over by the bookstore was Arcade. "It's Arcade!" Kitty said. "Why don't we ask him now about Cerebro?" 

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Rogue asked Kitty. "The last time he was at the mansion he nearly killed us!"

"Well he didn't know it was us or anything. He like thought it was a video game," Kitty told her. "Besides that was a long time ago. There he is. We might as well ask him."

"Well the Professor did want to talk to him first," Scott thought.

"Yeah but he's kind of got his hands full right now what with Angel needing him and Sam's sister coming to the Institute," Rogue said. "I mean think about it. It's one less thing for him to worry about." 

"Yeah but can we trust him?" Scott said. "Remember how easily he got into Cerebro the last time."

"Scott he didn't know what he did, he thought it was just a giant video game like Kitty said," Rogue told him. "It couldn't hurt to ask."

"Well as long as we're here…" Scott sighed. 

Arcade looked over and saw them. "Uh hey Kitty," He smiled. "Rogue, Scott. Haven't seen you guys in a while. Where have you been?"

"Uh well kind of at the Institute," Kitty fidgeted. 

"Oh right the whole mutant thing," Arcade ran his hand through his hair. "Sorry. I forgot. So how are you holding up."

"Pretty good considering the entire town hates our guts," Rogue sighed.

"Yeah well people can be real jerks," Arcade shrugged. "I should know." 

"Look I know this is gonna sound weird but can we ask you a favor?" Kitty asked. "You remember that big computer at our house?"

"Cerebro?" Arcade blinked. "Hey that was the thing with the video game with…Oh man that wasn't a game was it?"

"No it wasn't," Scott folded his arms. 

"Oops," Arcade gulped. 

"Look we're not mad about that," Kitty said.

"Speak for yourself," Scott muttered under his breath.

"But we're really having problems with it and we figured since you're so good with computers…" Kitty started.

"You want me to help fix your computer?" Arcade's eyes widened.

"Look if you don't want to we understand," Rogue began.

" Are you kidding? I'd love to help," Arcade grinned. 


	5. Things Don't Always Go According To Plan

**Things Don't Always Go According To Plan**

"I appreciate you coming back with us Warren," Xavier told Warren as they boarded the Blackbird.

"Well I never really got the full tour of the Institute," Warren said. "And I really do want to do something worthwhile with my powers. I'm getting kind of tired of living alone." 

"You don't have to be alone Warren," Hank said. "That's what the Institute is about. A place for mutants to be themselves without fear of rejection." 

"You guys really travel around in this thing?" Jesse looked around. 

"On occasion," Hank grinned at him. "Sometimes we use other means." 

"Um," Jesse asked Hank hesitantly. "Don't take this the wrong way or anything but is there anybody else like you? I mean, I don't want to be rude or anything when I get there. I just wanna have some warning so that I don't offend anybody or something."

"I understand," Hank nodded. "Actually there is another student that just happens to be blue and furry as well, but he also has three fingers and a tail."

"O-kay," Jesse said nervously. "I think I got that. Anybody else?" 

"We have quite a variety of students with different mutations," Xavier explained. "Some of course are more obvious than others. Others have mutations that are difficult or impossible to control without certain precautions."

"Such as…?" Jesse asked.

"One of my older students has eyes that create very powerful optic beams," Xavier told him. "He has to wear special sunglasses in order to contain them. Another student cannot touch anyone's skin directly without absorbing their powers and memories." 

"Uh huh," Jesse nodded. "And that's a bad thing?"

"Considering that if she touches you too long you could end up in a coma," Hank shrugged. "Or even kill you. But she's usually pretty careful not to touch anyone." 

"Oh…Angel?" Jesse looked at him. "Are you sure about this place?" 

"Don't worry kid," Angel said. "This place will help you." 

"Well I certainly could use all the help I can get," Jesse sighed. 

"It's all right Jesse," Xavier smiled. "In time you'll learn to control your powers. It just takes practice and patience." 

"And on occasion a few explosions and obstacles in the Danger Room," Hank chuckled.

"The what now?" Jesse asked. 

"Don't worry Jesse," Xavier said. "It's merely a training room that will help harness your abilities. It will help you to learn control."

"Okay, control is good," Jesse gulped nervously again. "Control can be a good thing." 

"It will be all right," Xavier smiled. "I know it's a bit overwhelming at first but we'll help you get adjusted. And everyone at the Institute has gone through their own adjustment period. They have learned to cope with their powers and accept being a mutant. And in some ways they are still learning. You'll see. You'll find that in a surprisingly short amount of time you will find out how beneficial your powers can be."

"If you say so," Jesse sighed.

"All right then," Hank started the jet. "Let's head on out shall we? Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to Mutant Airlines. Please make sure your trays are in the upright position and your seat belts are fastened." 

"Oh lord…" Beads of sweat started to form on Jesse's head as the Blackbird started to take off. 

Suddenly the controls of the Blackbird started to fizzle. "She's freezing up!" Hank gasped as the control panel started to explode. He managed to get out of his seat before he was injured. The Blackbird weaved on the ground and rolled out of control.

"I can't stop it!" Hank shouted. 

"Hang on!" Warren shouted. "Jesse!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!" Jesse screamed as panels started to explode. 

"We're headed for the cabin!" Warren shouted. 

"Jesse! Calm down! It will be all right!" Xavier shouted.

"I…I can't!" Jesse shouted.

"We gotta stop this thing!" Warren shouted.

Hank grunted and grabbed the controls, trying to apply the brake. He tried not to scream as a slight electrical shock went up his arms. He still hung on. He managed to apply the brake but not in time to stop the Blackbird from rolling into the cabin and taking out a wall. 

"Is everyone all right?" Xavier asked when the Blackbird stopped.

"Aside from a mild electric shock and burns fine," Hank groaned. "The Blackbird however is another story. The controls are completely destroyed." 

"Not to mention the family cabin," Warren groaned. "My parents are going to kill me!" 

"Sorry," Jesse apologized. "Did I mention that flying makes me very nervous? I really don't like it." 

"Oh dear," Hank blinked. "This could be a problem." 

"This might take longer than I thought," Xavier sighed.

************************************************************************

"Hey guys we're back!" Kitty called out as they entered the mansion. 

"It's about time," Bobby sighed. "Hey what's he doing here?" He pointed to Arcade.

"Arcade's come like to help us out," Kitty told him. "This way." She led him to Cerebro. 

Ten minutes later, Forge came out of Cerebro. "So how's it going?" Scott asked.

"Very well actually," Forge shrugged. "I think a bit too well."

"What do you mean?" Bobby asked.

"He didn't bother to ask what the problem was," Forge explained. "He just went for Cerebro and…" That's when the lights started to dim. 

"That's not good is it?" Bobby asked.

"No it is not," Forge said. The X-Men ran into Cerebro. Arcade was there with Cerebro's helmet on his head. "Arcade what are you doing?"

"Just putting the final adjustments on Cerebro," Arcade said matter of factly. "It took me a long time to bypass all the defense systems over the past few months but it was definitely worth it." 

"Wait a minute, you did this?" Forge asked. "You're the one that's been fooling around with Cerebro?" 

"I had to," Arcade said. "It was the only way I could get to Cerebro." 

"Oh god if this is about you playing some kind of stupid video game…" Rogue growled.

"No, but I'm not surprised you would think that," Arcade said. "Shows how much respect you have for her. To you all that she's nothing more than a tool! Well I know better! I'm probably the only person here who really cares about her!" 

"Her?" Rogue looked at him. "You're kidding right?"

"I've never been more serious," Arcade frowned. "I'm sick of how you people have been treating her. Cerebro deserves much better than that! And I'm going to make sure that from now on she's going to get the respect she deserves!"

"Yeah you and what army?" Remy growled.

"Funny you should ask," Arcade grinned. Suddenly dozens of circular drones appeared. "Remember these guys?"

"Hey those are those paintball drones Mystique once used on us in that phony simulation!" Bobby said. 

"Exactly. But I made a few modifications to these models," Arcade grinned. "They don't shoot paintballs." 

"What do they shoot?" Bobby asked. Immediately the drones started to shoot out little electric orbs. Bobby got zapped. "I'm sorry I asked!" He yelled. 

"Now if you'll excuse me, my darling Cerebro and I need some quality time," Arcade grinned. 

"Oh yeah well….AAAAAAAAAAAA!" Scott went to zap at the machine but it zapped him first. The X-Men tried to put up an assault but the drones fired rapidly forcing them out of Cerebro. 

"Scott what do we do?" Kitty asked.

"We gotta blast these things to kingdom come that's what we do!" Remy snapped. 

"Guys we couldn't beat those things the last time and they were only shooting paint!" Amara shouted. "Not to mention there's a ton of them now!"

"What do we do?" Ray asked.

"I think running is a pretty good idea," Bobby gulped. Even more drones appeared in front of them. They barely managed to escape the energy bombs as they were herded outside. 

"This is not good," Scott grumbled as he fell on his backside.

"It's getting even worse!" Peter pointed. "Look!" Suddenly the mansion started to lock down the windows and doors with metal plates.

"It's going into Defcon 4!" Rogue shouted. 

"We're locked out!" Kitty shouted. 

"And you're gonna stay locked out until you learn to be nice to Cerebro!" Arcade's voice blared over the intercom. "Now why don't you think about what you've done and when you're ready to apologize we'll be waiting for you. Until then…" 

Suddenly the lasers activated on the front lawn. The X-Men barely had time to get off the lawn and onto the street. "This is so humiliating!" Scott grumbled. "Kicked out of our own mansion!" 

"Now I know how the Misfits feel," Peter grumbled. 

"Great idea Kitty," Tabitha groaned. "Invite Arcade to help fix Cerebro!"

"How the heck was I supposed to know? This is a disaster! If Logan or the others come back we are in such trouble!" Kitty groaned. 

"You got that right," They heard a familiar growl. They turned around and saw Logan standing there with Ororo, Jean, Sam and a girl they didn't know. "Half-Pint, what the hell is going on here?" 


	6. Anybody Got a Plan?

**Anybody Got A Plan?**

"Let me get this straight, Are you saying that kid thinks Cerebro's alive?" Logan asked. 

"Apparently," Scott sighed. "And I think he has some kind of crush on Cerebro too." 

"Oh well this is just perfect!" Logan threw up his hands. "Where's Charles and Hank when you need them?"

"They should have been back by now," Kitty told him. 

"Well we're still locked out of the mansion," Bobby said.

"Well then we go and unlock it," Logan growled as he showed his claws. This caused Paige to startle. 

"Logan please," Ororo indicated Paige. "You're frightening Paige."

"Well what do you suggest we do?" Logan snapped as he retracted his claws. 

"Look Charles and the others should be back soon," Ororo said. "Maybe if we wait for them all we have to do is let Charles use his powers to try and reason with Arcade?"

"Or turn his brain to jelly," Rogue grumbled. "Oh too late, Arcade's already lost his mind!" 

"Rogue!" Ororo snapped. "The boy is obviously not in his right mind."

"No you think?" Logan said sarcastically. "We can't wait around for Charles to show up. Arcade might end up blowing him out of the sky for all we know." 

"So what do we do?" Kurt asked. 

"Maybe we can try to get in the mansion through the hanger or the back caves?" Amara suggested.

"We've done it before," Jean nodded.

"All right," Scott looked around. "Here's the plan. Jean, Magma, Shadowcat, Colossus and Forge will come with me around the back entrance. While we're doing that the rest of you will concentrate on creating a diversion from the front area. Try to get into the mansion from the front and obtain as much attention as possible. Nightcrawler, you take Iceman and teleport into the mansion and try to shut down the front foyer security system long enough to get the others in."

"Good plan," Ororo nodded. "I'll create a fog for some cover." 

"Okay, Then I'll take Sunspot, Boom Boom, Berzerker, Gambit and Rogue to take out the targets on the front lawn," Logan said. "We'll fight our way into Cerebro if we have to." 

"Sam, stay with your sister and look after her," Ororo told him. "You two should be safe here. And you as well Multiple." 

"But I can help!" Jamie protested. 

"No buts kid," Logan said. "Besides Cannonball might need help taking care of Paige okay?" 

"I'm not helpless you know!" Paige snapped. 

"Look this is some pretty hairy stuff," Bobby said. "You just don't have the experience fighting like the rest of us do."

"Look who's talking," Kitty huffed.

"Hey I've been in plenty of fights!" Bobby snapped.

"Yeah and you screwed up plenty of times too!" Kitty told him.

"People let's not get into this right now," Scott said. "We've got to focus on getting the mansion and Cerebro back."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Rogue asked. "Let's go kick that geek's butt!" 

Soon the X-Men got into position. "Okay Storm we're ready," Scott called in on his communicator. 

Immediately she started to create a huge fog. Logan led his team in to the attack slicing and destroying the cannons on the front lawn with ease. Meanwhile Jean used her powers to levitate the X-Men through the hidden entrance near the hangar one at a time. When they were close enough Kurt teleported with Bobby inside the mansion. They started to destroy the lasers and then went for the front door controls.

Meanwhile Arcade was watching the entire thing from his monitor in Cerebro. "Typical. Took them long enough to launch a counter attack. Well I think it's time we showed them again why Arcade is king of the computer world!" He started pressing some buttons. 

Logan and the others were waiting outside the front door. "Well at least we took care of the front yard," Logan huffed. 

"I wouldn't be too sure about that!" Remy shouted as he pointed above them. Several familiar looking drones appeared out from out of nowhere. 

"Heads up!" Rogue shouted. "It's those drones again!" 

"The paintball drones?" Logan asked.

"Yeah but with some Arcade style modifications!" Ray shouted as he dodged the lightning balls they threw. The X-Men found themselves trying to take them out but the drones were so fast they could barely keep from getting hit themselves. 

"What the hell is keeping those two?" Logan grumbled. 

"Maybe they're in some kind of trouble?" Rogue asked.

"**They're **in trouble?" Ray grumbled as another drone made a pass. 

"Can't you just absorb the electricity?" Tabitha asked him as they dodged the electric bombs.

"It still hurts!" Ray snapped. "Duck!" He shoved her out of the way only to get zapped. 

Ororo managed to destroy one with her lighting bolts but then she got zapped as well. Logan caught her as she fell to the ground. "Fall back!" He shouted. The X-Men retreated back to the front gates. 

Kurt teleported there as well with an unconscious Bobby in his arms. "Let me guess?" Logan checked over Bobby. "Those oversized bug zappers?"

"Ya," Kurt panted. "I barely made it out with most of my fur myself. But that's not what got Iceman. Arcade must have done some kind of sabotage the moment he touched it. We couldn't get the doors open." 

"Storm's okay but unconscious," Tabitha said. "She doesn't look too bad." 

"Nice to see you again," Paige quipped. 

"So much for that plan," Remy grumbled.

"Well let's hope that Cyclops and the others are having better luck," Logan groaned. 


	7. Husk Emerges

**Husk Emerges**

"Well, well what a surprise," Arcade droned as he watched Scott's team fight through the corridors. "Five minutes to get through the first wave. They are good. Unfortunately for them, I'm better. All I have to do is get my second wave of drones in position like so…" He typed on the keyboard. "I'll send a few of my fire generated ones to heat things up! That's right! Now to herd them down corridor C. Perfect. Just perfect." 

Meanwhile in the hallways. "This is not good!" Forge panted. "Yikes!" He dodged a fireball. "Man these things are insane!"

"Totally!" Kitty phased through one of the fireballs. 

"This way!" Scott led them down a corridor into a darkened room. As soon as they were all in the light went on revealing a light gray metal room. The door shut immediately behind them. "Hey?"

"No problem," Kitty attempted to phase through the room but she couldn't. "What the…I can't phase through!" 

"I know this room!" Forge said looking around. "Oh no!" 

"What is this stuff?" Peter tried pounding on the walls. Immediately after the first hit the walls vibrated a loud ring. They all screamed at the reverberations. 

"What was that?" Scott shouted. 

"It's vibranium," Forge grumbled. "It's an unusually unstable man made metal. I remember requesting it so I could study its properties. The vibrations are what must be keeping you from phasing us out."

"So like my powers are useless here?" Kitty asked. "Great! We're trapped!" 

"Why is there a room like this?" Jean asked.

"Uh my doing I'm afraid," Forge sighed. "I was running a diagnostic on some of my inventions and Cerebro recommended that a room made with vibranium might help…"

"Cerebro?" Kitty raised an eyebrow. "You mean Arcade!" 

"Oh man!" Forge groaned. "He must have somehow manipulated my diagnostic unit in my computer!"

"Why not?" Kitty grumbled. "He manipulated Cerebro and our e-mail!" 

"Maybe I can…" Scott readied his visor. 

"DON'T!" Forge stopped him. "Trust me, that's not gonna work. Unless you want us all to be fried with your own eye beams." 

"Oh this is getting better and better," Amara groaned. 

"How the heck did that little twerp figure out how to catch us so easily?" Scott grumbled. 

"He had access to Cerebro," Jean said. "He must have studied the file on our powers and learned about our strengths and weaknesses." 

"Well he sure did his homework on us," Scott grumbled. 

"So now what?" Amara asked. 

"We're gonna have to call for help," Scott sighed.

************************************************************************

"Are you okay Storm?" Jamie asked.

"A bit winded but I'll be fine," Ororo sighed as she lay next to the Institute gate wall. 

"Well you'd better sit the rest of this out okay?" Logan said. He looked at Bobby. "You don't look as bad though."

"I think my ice form helped me a little," Bobby sighed. "Not much but a little." 

"What is taking them so long?" Rogue grumbled. "Something should have happened by now." 

"Wait…" Ororo put a hand to her head. "I'm getting a message. It's Jean. They've been captured. They can't get out."

"Oh great!" Logan groaned. "So much for that plan." 

"Well this night is rapidly going downhill fast," Tabitha grumbled. 

"So now what?" Bobby asked. He saw the drones patrolling the lawn. 

"Maybe I can draw their fire?" Sam thought. He took off before anyone could stop him.

"Cannonball no!" Logan shouted. Sam managed to dodge a few and take out a drone by slamming into one. However it knocked him out and he lay there on the ground. Paige's eyes widened as she saw the drones prepare to fire. 

"SAMMY!" Paige screamed as she ran towards him.

"KID NO!" Logan shouted. 

Instantly Paige's skin hardened and her body seemed to grow. She covered her brother's body with hers as the drones fired their bolts. Remy managed to blow one of the drones up but not after it fired on Paige. "PAIGE!" He shouted. "What the…?"

Paige had transformed into some kind of rocklike being. It covered up her entire skin as well as her hair in a tan hue. Her clothes were a bit tattered but she looked fine. "Huh?" Sam looked up, dazed. 

"Get him out of there!" Logan shouted. 

With amazing strength Paige grabbed her brother and ran back to the gate. The drones fired at her back but she didn't seem in the least phased by it. "Sammy!" She shouted. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah just need to stop that ringing in my ears," Sam grumbled. "Paige?"

"Are you okay?" Tabitha asked. 

"Fine," Paige told her. "I didn't feel a thing."

"You didn't?" Bobby asked. "But how did you…?" 

"Last I checked rocks don't conduct electricity that well," Paige told him. "I just thought of it and boom. You know I think I'm getting the hang of this." 

"Hmmm…" Tabitha looked at the mansion. "If those drones can't hurt Paige. Maybe that's the ticket."

"What are you talking about?" Logan asked.

"Kurt you up for another trip inside the mansion?" Tabitha asked.

"Yeah," Kurt said. "But we tried that. Nobody can touch that control panel without getting fried!"

"She can," Tabitha indicated Paige. 

"Yeah!" Paige said. "Just tell me what to do and I can do it!" 

"What?" Sam yelled. 

"I'm immune to electricity with this skin!" Paige said. "Why wouldn't it work!" 

"No way!" Sam snapped. "It's too dangerous!" 

"I hate to say it Cannonball but the rookie has a point," Logan sighed. 

"This isn't exactly what I meant when I promised my parents I'd keep her safe!" Sam shouted. 

"Don't worry," Bobby said. "I'll watch her back and tell her what she needs to do." 

"Yeah but who's gonna watch yours?" Remy smirked. 

"Fine we'll try it your way," Logan sighed. 

"All right!" Jamie pumped his fist. 

"You stay here to watch after Storm!" Logan told him as they went.

"Great! She gets to go fight and she hasn't even been here a few hours!" Jamie groaned. "Life is so unfair!" 

****

I got the vibranium idea from one of the old 'Spider Man and His Amazing Friends' cartoons, the one guest starring the X-Men. Next up, more action and Arcade! 


	8. Arcade Explains it All

**Arcade Explains it All**

"Well this is interesting," Arcade looked at the monitor. "A new player to the game. No matter." He watched as the X-Men went deeper into the mansion. "Yes and now they'll be headed for Cerebro. How predictable. Well I suppose I'll get ready now shall I?" 

The X-Team made it down the hall and managed to open the locked door. "What took you so long?" Forge asked.

"Traffic was murder," Logan told them. "Get down!" More drones fired electric and fire bolts. 

One drone was about to fry Kitty when a blast of fire scorched it from seemingly out of nowhere. "It's Lockheed!" Kitty said hugging her dragon. 

"He must have gotten trapped in the mansion when Arcade took over," Jean remarked. She saw Paige in her rock form. "What is she doing here?"

"She helped us get back in," Sam told them. "You see…"

More drones appeared and kept firing. "No time for explanations!" Logan snapped. They started to fight the drones. 

"We have to get to Cerebro and stop this freak once and for all!" Scott snapped.

"Well talk about the pot calling the kettle black," Arcade's voice rang over the intercom. "This is what I'm talking about! You don't understand anything!"

"What don't we understand?" Paige said. "Tell us!" 

"Paige what are you…?" Bobby whispered. 

"Just trust me," Paige told him. She turned around and saw Arcade's face on a nearby monitor on one of the drones. "Why don't you start from the beginning? I'm new here so I don't really know what's going on. Why don't we just talk about this?"

"All right," Arcade said. "Let's talk." He paused the drones so that they wouldn't attack. 

"Huh?" Kurt looked around.

_Everyone, _Jean sent a telepathic message. _I think I know what Paige is trying to do. By getting him to talk we can get him to let his guard down. _

"Before I say anything…I'm not sure we've met," Arcade looked at Paige. "Are you like Colossus or something?" 

"Or something," Paige said. Paige crumbled off a lot of her rock façade to reveal her real face. "Is this better?" 

"Yeah," Arcade said.

"Now what's this all about?" Kitty asked. "Why are you so infatuated with Cerebro?"

"It's a long story," Arcade sighed. "I suppose it comes down to just a cliché, my parents never had any time for me. I suppose you've heard it before, not too many friends, yada yada yada…Kind of boring isn't it?" 

"Well not really," Paige said. 

"You're just saying that to be polite," Arcade sighed. "I suppose it started way back after I first played Cerebro. Well when I thought it was just a game. I didn't know what you really were. It was such an awesome mainframe. I tried to recreate it at my house to some extent, but I couldn't quite get it right. So I decided to go to the source. I went online and managed to hack my way into Cerebro. By the way your security really stinks. I mean any hacker can hack into it with a little imagination!"

"Apparently any hacker did," Logan grumbled. 

"Well I started to look for schematics at first," Arcade said. "Little things when then I noticed that I was finding the information a little too easily. Like someone was actually helping me learn about Cerebro. At first I thought it was one of you guys giving me secret advice. But it turned out that Cerebro herself was doing it! It was amazing! A computer had developed true artificial intelligence!"

"Well if that's true why we notice it?" Forge asked.

"Because you were all too busy using her for your own purposes!" Arcade snapped. "I'll bet it never even occurred to you that Cerebro could think for itself!"

"It's a machine!" Remy snapped. "Nothing more than a bunch of circuits and wires! No matter how advanced it is it couldn't have contacted you! You must have fallen into some other type of program or something!" 

"You don't understand," Arcade told him. "She called to me. She was lonely just like I was!"

"Are you telling me that you think Cerebro is alive?" Scott asked. "You're nuts!"

"What's so crazy about that?" Arcade snapped. "Humans evolve, why not machines? A computer can learn how to feel as well as think. Its not that far fetched."

"This isn't a 'Terminator' movie!" Remy snapped. 

"Interesting choice of words," Arcade had a glint in his eye. "Cerebro, initiate program 'Hasta La Vista'!" 

"Oh great just what we need!" Bobby groaned as he saw what was approaching. "More drones! Yeow!"

"And they shoot off lasers as well as electricity at the same time!" Kurt dodged them. "Perfect!"

Somehow the X-Men managed to be corralled into the living room and find protection behind some of the couches. Well some protection.

"Anybody have any more bright ideas?" Kitty groaned as she put her head to the ground. 

"I can teleport and Rogue can zap him with one touch," Kurt said.

"Yeah but something tells me he might have figured that out," Kitty dodged a fire blast. "You could get shocked!"

"Maybe not…" Paige concentrated and grabbed at her face. She pulled off her old skin to reveal a black plastic one underneath. "Plastic also is lousy with electricity. I think." 

"It would give them an edge…" Logan grudgingly admitted. 

"Nightcrawler, take Rogue and Paige to Cerebro!" Scott said. "We'll deal with these things! NOW!" 

Kurt grabbed Rogue and Paige and teleported to Cerebro. However as soon as they entered several new drones appeared and trapped them inside a force field. Rogue tried to punch her way out but couldn't. "Dang stupid…" She swore under her breath. 

"I can't teleport either!" Kurt gasped. 

"Oh that," Arcade looked at them. "I figured out a way to stop your teleportation by using a controlled frequency inside the force field. That was a clever trick. I have to admit it nearly caught me by surprise." 

"You won't be able to keep the X-Men out forever!" Paige said.

"Yeah sooner or later you're gonna run outta toys!" Rogue snapped. 

"I know," Arcade looked at her. "That's why I'm prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice."

"What do you mean?" Paige asked. 

"You know the brain is an amazing object," Arcade was fiddling with the helmet. "It has the same capacity as a supercomputer. The only difference is that information is stored electrochemically in our brains. But if there was a way to transfer that information…"

"You're going to download Cerebro into your head?" Paige gasped.

"Of course not," Arcade told her. "That would be crazy. I'm going to download **my **brain into Cerebro." 

"Oh yeah that's a lot saner," Kurt grumbled. 

"This way we'll never be apart," Arcade said softly. 

**Will Arcade download his mind into Cerebro? Will the X-Men stop him in time? And what about Xavier, Hank, Warren and Jesse? What happened to them? Find out in the next thrilling chapter! **


	9. Bedlam

**Bedlam**

"Well we've finally made it to the X-Mansion," Xavier sighed as they went down the street in a limo. 

"Sorry about what happened before," Jessie sighed. "I mean not only did I nearly kill us with the jet I nearly wasted us with the first limo."

"Well that time it wasn't exactly your fault either Jesse," Warren said as he drove.

"I told you that you were driving too fast Hank!" Xavier glared at him. 

"You know I think I've been picking up driving tips from Kitty," Hank sighed. 

"Jesse it's okay to be nervous," Xavier told him. "Here at the Institute we can help you control your powers in a safe calm environment."

That's when an explosion rocked the street. "What the…?" Warren looked out the window. "Is that smoke coming from the mansion?" 

"Oh no…" Xavier sighed. 

"Usually stuff doesn't explode until I'm near it!" Jesse said.

"I don't think this is your doing Jesse," Xavier frowned. He saw Jamie waving from the side of the road with Ororo. "Storm! Multiple! What is going on?" 

"Professor! Professor!" Jamie said excitedly. "Arcade took over the mansion and threw us out and blasted all of us and Storm got hurt and now everybody's fighting and the mansion's getting all blown up and…"

"Hold on there!" Hank held up his hands. "Hold it! Storm are you all right?"

"I'll be okay," Ororo sighed. "Arcade was the one who infiltrated Cerebro. The X-Men are inside trying to stop him. Somehow he's managed to take over the training drones and upgrade them."

Another explosion rocked the mansion. "Something tells me they're going to need help," Hank gulped. 

"Professor you and Jesse stay here," Warren said. "Hank, you're with me!" 

"Angel wait!" Jesse shouted. But he was ignored as they made their way towards the mansion. 

They made it to the door when it opened. They found themselves staring at seven drones. "Oh my…" Hank gulped. They dodged the blasts as fast as they could. "YEOW! THAT HURTS!" 

Warren got hit in the back and he fell to the ground. The drones got in position over him. When suddenly they shorted out. Warren looked up and saw Jesse nearby. "Jesse?"

"I…I couldn't let you get hurt," Jesse panted. "Not after all you did for me. I was afraid for you and I just thought if I could…I can't explain it."

"I think Jesse your unusual aversion to anything electronic may be beneficial considering the circumstances," Hank told him. "Do you think you can do that again?"

"Well I've been doing it for two weeks, so why stop now?" Jesse told them. He followed them inside. "Whoa…" He looked at the destruction around them. "This place is a mess."

"Maid's day off," Hank told him. He heard an explosion. "Sounds like the party's over here!" 

They ran into the next room and saw the X-Men had taken out the majority of drones. Jesse concentrated and the drones exploded. "What?" Scott looked. "Are we glad you're here! Angel? And…"

"This is Jesse," Hank said. "Proper introductions can wait for now. What happened?"

"Arcade, he's gone nuts!" Remy spat out. "He thinks Cerebro's a femme!"

"Is he another mutant?" Jesse asked.

"No he's just crazy," Forge told him. "I think he's in love with Cerebro! Or he thinks he's in love with Cerebro."

"Okay that's the big computer that can find mutants am I right?" Jesse asked.

"Correct," Hank told him. "But it is also the nerve center of the mansion. We have to put an end to this." 

"Easier said than done!" Bobby pointed as more drones appeared. "Okay how the heck did Arcade make all these things?" 

"We're gonna get fried!" Jesse gulped. Then the drones started to short circuit. "Oh…I guess we're not." 

"I don't know what you just did but boy am I glad you did it," Sam sighed. 

"Let's go!" Logan told them. They managed to get into Cerebro with very little resistance. When they finally broke down the door, they saw Paige, Rogue and Kurt trapped by the force field and Arcade hooked up to Cerebro. "What the devil is going on here?" 

"Do something!" Paige shouted. "He's gonna kill himself!" 

"What?" Forge yelled. 

"He wants to download his brain into Cerebro!" Paige explained. 

"But that's impossible, isn't it?" Bobby asked. 

"This kid is way beyond disturbed!" Logan growled. "He's freaking off the wall!" 

"Cyclops, Iceman, Gambit and Magma take out those drones and free the others!" Hank ordered. "Forge you and Kitty help me stop Arcade!" 

They managed to take out the drones with the force field just before more drones appeared. "Oh man…" Jesse gulped nervously.

"Jesse!" Warren shouted. "You're shorting out Cerebro!" The entire room was starting to short circuit.

"It's gonna blow!" Forge shouted. Kurt teleported Rogue and Paige out of the room while Kitty grabbed Tabitha and Amara and phased through the floor. Jean protected the rest of them with her force field when the electricity sparked out of the room. Arcade screamed in agony then fell silent. 

"Is it over?" Sam gulped when the sparks stopped. 

"Is everyone okay?" Scott asked.

"Define 'okay'," Forge groaned. 

"Arcade!" Rogue shouted as she and the others returned to the room. 

"Help me get him out of this…" Kitty and Hank ran over to Arcade, lying lifelessly on the ground. They pulled the cerebral helmet off him. He looked a bit singed. 

"Oh man he's fried!" Bobby gulped. 

"I…can't sense his thoughts," Jean said. 

"Is he…?" Kitty put a hand over her mouth. 

"He's breathing…" Hank checked him over. "And the outside don't look too bad but who knows what's going on inside. If there's anything left of his brain." 

"Well there's nothing left of Cerebro." Bobby groaned.

"I think Cerebro is the least of our worries for now," Xavier wheeled in with Ororo and Jamie behind him. "We have to get Arcade to a hospital and…"

"Ohhhhhh…" Arcade groaned. "My head." 

"He's awake?" Xavier blinked. 

"Little geek's tougher than he looks," Ray remarked. 

"Cerebro?" Arcade blinked as he stirred. "Cerebro…" He managed to get to his feet. "What? NOOOOOOOOOOO!" He screamed when he saw the damage. He whirled on them with tears in his eyes. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?" 

"Us?" Bobby snapped. 

Arcade glared at them with eyes filled with mad rage. He lunged at Logan and beat his hands against his chest. "WHY DID YOU KILL HER?" He screamed as his furious but ineffectual fists beat against him. 

Logan stood there for a full minute in disbelief. Arcade eventually stopped pounding on his chest and sank to the floor. "You killed her! You killed her! Why did you kill her?" He howled. 

"He's plum out of his freaking mind…" Remy's voice was in a whisper. 

"I'm sorry," Jesse said softly. "It was my fault. I didn't mean it." 

"She was my friend…" Arcade shouted. "She was my friend!" 

"It was an accident…" Jesse said.

"My friend…my friend…" Arcade sobbed, wrapped up in his own little world. 

"I didn't…" Jesse started to say. Scott put his hand on his shoulder.

"Don't blame yourself kid," Scott said. "Things just got out of control."

"My friend…my friend…" Arcade howled. 

"Well we won…" Paige looked around. "I think."

"Some victory," Scott sighed. 

**Be prepared for the shocking conclusion! It's shocking! Oh yes it is! **


	10. New Recruits

**Here it is, the conclusion. Be prepared for a shock! **

**New Recruits**

A few hours later Xavier, Hank and Forge were picking through what was left of Cerebro. "What a mess!" Forge sighed. "It's going to take forever to clean this mess up!" 

"Yeah," Logan walked in. "I haven't seen a mess like this since the Misfits last showed up for a birthday party. It's a miracle that Arcade wasn't killed."

"Maybe it wasn't," Xavier said. "I've been studying the circuitry and what I found is unbelievable." 

"Yeah it's like somehow some kind of program was installed so that in an accident the majority of electricity would be rerouted back into Cerebro," Forge told them. "The funny thing is…there's no sign that Arcade programmed it or anyone else."

"Huh?" Logan asked. 

"Somehow…Cerebro was responding to Arcade," Xavier told him. "Without any programming at all. In fact it seems like it purposely rerouted enough power so it wouldn't kill him." 

"Wait, are you saying that the kid was **_right_**?" Logan asked Xavier.

"We may never know for certain," Xavier sighed. "Very little of the original circuitry and programming remains. We have to practically rebuild the new Cerebro from scratch." 

"Well its not like it's the first time Cerebro's been remade," Logan shrugged. "Or that the mansion has been trashed."

"Well…" Warren walked in with several X-Men, as well as Paige and Jesse. "I suppose life here at the Mansion isn't going to be dull at least."

"You're staying?" Hank raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah isn't that cool?" Tabitha squealed. 

"Oh brother," Logan rolled his eyes.

"Hey I'm getting tired of the hiding from the entire world in my own corner routine," Warren shrugged. "And maybe by helping you guys out, I can put my powers to good use for a change."

"Well we could use all the help we can get!" Hank said happily.

"Welcome to the X-Men Warren," Xavier shook his hand.

"And more importantly welcome to the teaching staff," Hank grinned as he shook Warren's hand. 

"Good luck Blondie," Logan snorted. "You're gonna need it. How's Storm?"

"She's much better now," Scott told them. "She'll be on her feet in no time." 

"Well it's not exactly the most auspicious introduction to the Institute," Hank said. "But I hope you two want to stay here." 

"You still want me here after all this?" Jesse asked. "I destroyed Cerebro!" 

"That wasn't exactly your fault," Bobby pointed out. 

"Yeah and it wouldn't be the first time somebody's powers went haywire around here," Scott grinned. "But you can learn to control it. If you stick around long enough you can learn how to put it to good use." 

"Well…" Jesse grinned. "Okay. I guess I'll stick around then."

"Welcome to the X-men," Scott shook his hand. He looked at Paige. "Both of you. I gotta admit Paige, you did pretty well for your first time." 

"Wow Cyclops actually paid you a compliment," Sam grinned. "Way to go sis!" 

"Cyclops?" Jesse asked. 

"Scott's code name," Tabitha explained. "Nearly all of us have one."

"Cool," Jesse nodded. 

"So what's your code name going to be?" Tabitha asked Paige.

Paige looked at the last shred of plastic skin on her arm. "Husk," She said finally. 

"Husk?" Tabitha asked.

"You know as in the outer covering? Skin and stuff?" Paige told them. "Since my skin just sheds off like this."

"I gotcha," Tabitha nodded. "It does fit." 

"And what about you Jesse?" Hank asked. "What code name would you like? There must be something you find appropriate for all the bedlam your powers create." 

"What the heck does 'bedlam' mean?" Jesse asked. 

"It means chaos," Hank informed him. "Pandemonium."

"In other words Dude it's when everything goes nuts," Forge explained.

"Well when you put it like that Bedlam fits me perfectly." Jesse said. 

"Good," Xavier nodded. "First thing we need to do is to get you two settled." 

"Hey you can share my room!" Tabitha said gleefully to Paige.

"Really?" Paige's eyes lit up. "You wouldn't mind somebody whose skin kinda sheds?"

"Hey if you can put up with the occasional time bomb, I can put up with a little skin," Tabitha grinned. "But the first thing we gotta do roomie is get you some nail polish! And some new threads! I got an outfit that will suit you just fine!"

"Hey do you have any nail polish in that color you have?" Paige asked Tabitha. 

"Do I?" Tabitha laughed as she took her arm. "Come on! Besides I wanna find out some dirt on Sammy here!"

"Oh really?" Paige grinned. "Did he ever tell you about his favorite childhood toy Mr. Pinkles?"

"Paige!" Sam groaned. 

"This I gotta hear!" Tabitha laughed as the two girls walked down the hall. 

"Oh yeah she's going to fit in here just fine," Scott groaned. 

"Man your sister and your girlfriend are going to share a room?" Forge asked.

"Be afraid Sam, be very afraid," Bobby told him. 

"I'm a dead man," Sam moaned. 

"This is going to be fun," Jesse grinned. "So who am I gonna room with?" 

"Well…" Xavier looked thoughtful. Suddenly some circuits sparked. 

"YEOW!" Forge jumped away. "What the…?"

"Oops," Jesse gulped. "I think I did that."

"It appears that your powers reflect your emotional state," Hank looked at the circuits. "If you are in a heightened state of euphoria as well as anxiety it can cause some problems."

"Huh?" Jesse looked at him.

"He means if you get too happy or scared things act up," Forge explained. 

"Maybe you should have your own room for now," Scott gulped. 

"Sorry," Jesse said. 

"Yeah I'd say the kid picked a good name," Logan sighed.

************************************************************************

The following night at dinner…

"Man I thought we'd never get the living room finished," Bobby groaned. "Are my arms sore!" 

"My arms and my tail are sore!" Kurt groaned. 

"When are repairs to Cerebro going to be finished?" Scott asked. 

"I fear that might take some time," Hank sighed. "At least a few weeks."

"Wonderful," Forge sighed. "There goes my free time." 

"So what did happen to Arcade?" Kitty asked.

"I don't know," Xavier sighed. "But I couldn't press charges against the boy. Especially not after meeting his parents. You don't need telepathic abilities to understand why Arcade would act the way he did after ten minutes with them. It was very clear that they never wanted anything to do with him in the first place. They were almost overjoyed to have an excuse to get rid of him." 

"Get rid of him?" Scott asked. 

"They just left him in the hospital," Jean frowned. "They've practically been planning to disown him for a long time! I can't even hate him even after all he put us through. It was just a desperate cry for help." 

"Man no wonder the kid snapped," Bobby sighed. "Professor couldn't you like…you know…fix him or something?"

"I'm afraid that's no longer possible," Xavier sighed. "Somehow the accident left Arcade immune to telepathy." 

"So what is going to happen to him?" Kitty asked. 

"I heard that they had shipped him off someplace for some kind of psychiatric treatment," Xavier sighed. 

"Well let's hope he gets it," Scott said. "Well at least we know he won't be bothering us anytime soon." 

************************************************************************

Two weeks later….

Arcade slowly got out of the vehicle. He barely paid any attention to his new surroundings. He couldn't believe what was happening to him. He was terrified. He didn't belong here. He was going to die. He knew it. 

He went into the building and found himself face to face with the other inmates of the asylum or whatever it was he was in. "Uh…Hi there," Arcade gulped. 

The Misfits stood there in shock. Pietro looked at Roadblock and asked, "This is our new recruit?" 

**Bet you didn't see that coming did you? So what does happen when a human joins a team of mutants? Find out in the upcoming fic 'The New Guy'. **


End file.
